“Insurance litigator Andrew Hooker has taken on the case for free, saying while refusing to pay out on a lapsed policy legal, Dishington was “a dead man walking” and the insurer should show some compassion.
“The very thing that led to him not paying the premium was what killed him.”
Victim had paid AMP $70,000 over several years before he became incapacitated.
So change the government to one that doesn’t believe in neoliberalism.that was good until Key and Judge got their hands on it.
The solution again is simple.
Abandon neoliberalism.
“The problem is that the government stopped acting as a government and started acting as a business.”
Thats true enough but there does remain one advantage even so….and thats the government will not declare bankruptcy (or at least not at the drop of a hat) and walk away from any proved liability
So make your mind up. Are you talking about more regulation or are you talking about nationalisation?
You obviously have little time for anybody who challenges what you write. Trolls are like that. That you would suggest that I am a defender of neoliberalism just shows how little attention you actually pay.
Says you. You are of course the voice of reason….and a legend in you’re own mind.
We all defer to your greatness and wonder how in the fuck we can ever be ‘like’ you.
I’m depressed. I WANNA BE LOIK SOLKTA.
I know I am one – that is a little old lady who is shortly to be an ex customer of Public Trust to protect what I hope to be able to leave to my chosen beneficiaries.
If we could renationalise the banks, we would be far less vulnerable to international financial interests.
If you want to know who really runs NZ, follow the money.
And a lot of that money is Chinese.
Paranoia much. The comment was about Chinese (probably black) mobey…. not Chinese (as in people as a race or ethnicity). Could just as easily have been Russian or the proceeds from any other expansionist wannabe Empire
“The government’s ownership of the BNZ, and use of it as its banker, allowed it to become the largest trading bank. It was fully nationalised in 1945.
An 1865 law which established the Post Office Savings Bank also curbed the rights of other savings banks and enabled it to absorb competitors. By the mid-1950s the Post Office Savings Bank controlled around 80% of the personal savings market.”
“The government’s ownership of the BNZ, and use of it as its banker, allowed it to become the largest trading bank. It was fully nationalised in 1945.
An 1865 law which established the Post Office Savings Bank also curbed the rights of other savings banks and enabled it to absorb competitors. By the mid-1950s the Post Office Savings Bank controlled around 80% of the personal savings market.”
The issue is New Zealand’s banks set a sector profit record in 2017, their profits rising 7.35 per cent to $5.1 billion.
Most of those banks are not NZ owned banks any more therefore NZ does not get that profit that we would get if it was owned by a NZ company.
Apparently NZ banks are one of the most profitable in the world!
(Possibly a complete lack of government regulation, such as not even requiring the bank to guarantee cash deposits, have helped us achieve this dubious honour).
The now profitable (mostly Australian owned) banks were sold off by our government for a song in the 1980’s and 1990’s, like Bank of New Zealand, etc….
Which contains the statement –
“A state monopoly can be run at close to cost.”
This applies to more than insurance. It can also be applied to state housing.
It was only National’s cult rigidity that caused it to bring state housing up to market level in stages to make it less noticeable and less of a financial shock to everyone.
Housing could have a base housing cost set at new based on costs. Then the aim should be to recover that cost over many years on an amortised basis, plus an allowance for repairs and maintenance each year, these to be carried out regularly. There is no reason for state housing to be provided free, the people in them may be entitled to government pensions, and out of those they might need rental housing and if it is government housing they would be able to afford it, it might be somewhat cheaper than private, but sufficient for government retrieval of cost plus.
The new style of census seems to have been a disaster. This is what the country is coming to.
I didn’t fill it in. But is sounds like it was designed with extensive consultation from Wellington committees, hence completely out of touch with modern life.
There is a certain irony about worrying about A4 sized mould in a census while not actually understanding the vast amounts of people who don’t even have a home to live in to even be included in the census or even want to be identified, or to calculate the hours of their ‘main’ job when people don’t even have a main job anymore.
ECO MAORIs Kiwi Bank ac 389019048573100 Please help me to sort the nz police out
I decided against trying to use PayPal to receive donations .I decided to copy
Thestandards safe way of appealing and receiving donations I set up a Kiwi Bank AC
So he tangata the people of Aoteraoroa New Zealand who support ECO MAORI can use internet banking to make donations and know that there bank accounts are safe after they have made a donation . ECO MAORI will use the donations to SUE the nz police for all the breaches to mine and my Whano Privacy Rights & Human Rights a lot of people can see this has been happening to ECO MAORI when I win my case I will set up a
Charitable Trust and I will pay the money that I used and any extra donations into this Trust account and appeal to anyone else in Aoteraoroa who need help with finance to SUE the nz police for there in justices I will copy bank statements on this site to let he tangata the people know that ECO MAORI has Honest Honorable and transparent intentions to use your hard earned Putea Money. .
Kia Kaha Ka kite ano
Good morning Corin Dan from Q & A on TV1 I’v had to face up to the silver back effect and buy me some reading glasses lol.
Its assume that good fortune shines down on a Labour lead Governments finances the working common persons Government .
What happened to a Government that was all about the wealthy well you already know the answer to that question Te tangata Te tangata Te tangata treating the people humanly and fairly look after Papatunanuku and all her beautiful creatures and good fortune is what you will receive .
shonky gave the wealthy who did not need more money more money tax cuts and were did that come from well the poor common person he put GST up 2. 1/2 % .
shonkys famous words were I will not put up GST .
Business people you will have to use your initiative and management will have to earn the money and become more productive to support a higher wage like OUR Australian cousins do. Pay more money for the common person and Ladys equally then there is more money for business . Ka kite ano P.S I believe there should be quote rs for ladys in management at 25% Kia kaha Eco maori will still voice his opinion when I see anyone taking us down the wrong path
Here is a industry that would increase OUR gross domestic product by 1 Billion dollars in 3 years it will creat hundreds of jobs for our rual communitys that have had a sharp decline in income in the last 30 years .I have seen this decline with my own eyes .When I was a young man there were Kiwi fruit orchards vineyards all around the East Coast Ngati Purou sheep and Beef farms were all well mantained and employment was a lot higher than it is at the minute.
I can even remember the Helicopter flying Rob Muldoon to Rangitokia or Tiktiki I was on the other side of the Waiapu river at Tikapa this is how much Mana Te Taiwhiti had in those days . This industry will creat income with low impact to the enviroment ka kite ano
This is what happens when one does not learn the culture and does not show respect to that culture the people who are investing in there country lose out big time its time we respected these great people and there culture well thats ECO MAORI view enough said here is a link to Newsroom .
If teaching was a male dominated sector of OUR society they would be payed a lot more here is a link showing the disparities of in come between Ladys and men this has to change as the jobs aren’t easier because someone is a lady if fact its harder for Ladys in male dominated industrys.
Good evening News Hub on TV 3 well I have already written about some of the topics you have covered to night .
The Poverty Bay name change is a topic I would like to write about te tangata will already know my opinion of this the Original name would be nice .
Celebrating the NZ Aotearoa wars will educate all Kiwis about what happened and about OUR Maori culture I hope all Kiwis will be proud of our Maori culture as ECO MAORI is Kia kaha ka kite ano P.S its been a good weekend for our sports ka pai
You have been publishing this a lot recently (and the previous give-a-little and paypal).
How is it going?
Got a lawyer to help you as yet? You know a lot will help on a contingency basis if they think you have a case – which means you wont need the money up front.
I requested paper forms over a week ago (it said it would take upp to a week to get it to me). Still haven’t received it. Sent them a message yesterday.
I will fill it out.
But can see how the many homeless would find it to much hassle to find a way to get access to fill in the form (on or offline).
It’s part of our +rock star+ economy that the MSM and government tells us we have.
If you only ask the right questions and send it to people who feel comfortable in their conservatory with good internet access and reliable postal service, Wellington gets the results they want.
Hi Carolyn, how were the desperate homeless folks’ census statistics gathered in the past? I don’t think foot soldier collectors toured under bridges and parks after dark.
The majority of New Zealanders considered homeless have letterboxes. I believe we are apparently the worst in the OECD because our statistics include people like me when I was living in luxury at my sister’s place.
Of course we need to address our problems but to do so we need an accurate handle on the problem.
This footage from downtown Los Angeles Christmas Day a few months ago.
For the previous census, statsnz did indeed have people taking forms around known sleeping areas. Dunno about the one just been.
I quite liked the qualitative lifestyle questions in this census. Each one individually sounds a bit silly, but if you’re a person in a dwelling with widespread mould, no conservatory, and you have difficulty cleaning yourself (which points to flexibility and activity levels) then that’s a different picture from someone who’s perfectly fine in a clean, dry home with a conservatory or two.
If you can’t clean yourself up, how reliable are your other faculties?
Also I think the problem is, the census won’t be an accurate picture because there are serious issues with how the census itself was run and people either did not know about the changes of arbitrary deciding to get people to go onto the Internet rather than using people going door to door as in previous censuses.
It you count the homeless, couch surfers, illegal immigrants, people who can’t or won’t use a computer, people who didn’t know about it, (easy to do if you seldom use mail and don’t watch TV) and non English speakers then you probably have about 25% of people who won’t complete it.
So it’s not gonna provide any answers that are meaningful to the government.
People and paper would have been better like the old days, but these days it’s easier to pretend that forms mean everybody’s needs and there is a zealous willingness to complete them. (Possibly a Wellington curse).
Cleaning requires joint flexibility and/or physical proportions within a certain range. Next time you sit down on the loo, pretend you can’t bend your back without shards of pain, or that you can’t rotate your shoulder to raise your hand up to 45 degrees. As if you’d had a vehicle injury years ago or arthritis were well-entrenched. And even if someone can’t fill in the forms, there’s provision for the forms to be filled in by caregivers (not that a physical disability comes close to meaning one doesn’t have the “faculties” to fill in a form).
The couch surfers get the forms from the people who own the couch. The homeless are sought out by census workers. As are immigrants. After all that, the results are compared with testing exercises and previous results to calculate the estimated resident population (to account for internal migration on the day and some systemic issues).
If this census does indeed miss 25% of the population compared to the one five years ago, it would stand out like a dog’s bollocks. Most of the organisation was done under the nats, so we’ll see, but I reckon you’ll find that they know what dwellings exist and will be a-knocking on any that haven’t filled in the forms.
Yes, Graeme pointed out an aspect of this new online system that I hadn’t considered. With the paper version they state things like ‘If you answered Yes move on to the next question’. If answering ‘No’ the additional questions were all visible. With the online version, if answering ‘Yes’ we don’t know of the additional questions. I quite like seeing the additional questions but in the name of KISS I can see benefits.
Yes there seemed to be quite a focus on “So what sort of houses are we all living in?” I can see that generating useful stats. Polls and surveys seem to be all over the place and to go forward as best we can, we need to know where we’re at now.
One of the changes with the move online is that the sub-menus and questions are now hidden to unaffected people. In the old days of paper it was all there but you’d be directed to specific sections base on your answer.
One question that had me wondering was the Maori decent one, 3 options yes, no, don’t know. I selected don’t know as I have several people with no past down the tree. I then got directed to a question asking if I knew my iwi. Now that should have been picked up in re-release testing, which brings the whole thing into question. What other errors where in the thing?
Thank-you fior inviting me to quote your entire comment, I may do that in a future Open Mike.
Your continuing failure to acknowledge your misunderstanding of ‘tit for tat’, which was the only justification you offered for your initial misogynistic slur:
“That shows what kind of bitch you [Anne] are.”
is genuinely puzzling.
Maybe the light will dawn if I being responses to your more objectional ‘twits’ with the following:
That shows what kind of a bitch* James is.
*Note I’m using that term only because James has used this term against a person he does not like on this site. It’s called ‘just deserts’.
The remedy is in your hands. I predict that you will continue to maintain that there is nothing wrong with your initial misogynistic attack on Anne.
Yes, I wonder about the wisdom of publically claiming a refusal to complete the census. This from a recent Stuff article…
“If you don’t, here’s what Stats NZ has to say: “After census day, any household who is yet to complete their census forms will be contacted again by letter. … People who choose not to fill out their census forms can be fined between $50 and $500.”
I didn’t fill it in because I didn’t know it was on, I have everything automated and use email mostly to keep in touch, therefore seldom check paper mail and I don’t normally watch TV, let alone adds.
Nothing on Facebook and did not notice any adds on The Standard or Daily Blog for it (2nd and 3rd ranking blogs) which are my NZ blog reads, or the guardian (apparently they have 10% NZ readership) therefore it was a pretty bad effort in my view if the census people were trying to reach an online community that does not watch TV or read right wing propaganda on a regular basis.
Apparently you can still fill it in, but I only noticed that because I saw a TV add as I was fast forwarding about the census.
Personally I can see A LOT of problems with their assumptions.
I’m a native English speaker what did they do for non English speakers in particular ones who don’t want to be identified or are visiting.
The other day I posted a link with some tenants who trashed a house. I really can’t see how people like that are going to be reached by this style of census, can you really see people logging onto the internet and filling it out who are in dire straits or who have major issues going on?
As for going around homeless people, didn’t the John Key government laughably go around a few cars, to do that to determine that homeless people did not want any help?
We have just found that our immigration statistic are based on people signing a form on their intentions on entering the country not actually on actual records of who is really here in this country.
Many people have multiple passports and can apparently be deported and just pop back again for years under a new name. No wonder OZ and the UK are getting tired of all our citizens piggy backing into their countries on NZ passports.
These people live on another planet if you think our government amateur attempts are the way to gather data from a widening group of people who live here.
I didn’t fill it in because I didn’t know it was on
That was a problem. Advertising can only reach those who engage with the advertising medium.
Still, now that you know about it you can ring 0800 CENSUS and organise an access code.
Personally I can see A LOT of problems with their assumptions.
And I can see a lot of problems with your assumptions and they all revolve around your ignorance.
As for going around homeless people, didn’t the John Key government laughably go around a few cars, to do that to determine that homeless people did not want any help?
What’s one got to do with the other? Especially when John was actually lying about it.
The other day I posted a link with some tenants who trashed a house. I really can’t see how people like that are going to be reached by this style of census
I can’t see them being reached by any sort of census. Or do you think that census people should endanger their lives by approaching these people?
These people live on another planet if you think our government amateur attempts are the way to gather data from a widening group of people who live here.
Would you have preferred John Key’s and National’s preferred idea of dropping the census because they watched the populace enough to already have the data?
Please note that doing so is a legal requirement and that not doing so may come with a fine.
But is sounds like it was designed with extensive consultation from Wellington committees, hence completely out of touch with modern life.
Actually, it sounds like you’re talking out your arse. Nearly three million people had filled it out online by the end of the 6th so that would be very much inline with modern life.
There is a certain irony about worrying about A4 sized mould in a census while not actually understanding the vast amounts of people who don’t even have a home to live in to even be included in the census or even want to be identified, or to calculate the hours of their ‘main’ job when people don’t even have a main job anymore.
An A4 sized patch of mould can represent major problems with the house and as we have a housing crisis and houses that are killing people I’d say that it was fairly important.
People who don’t live in houses are being included.
People who put zero hours in their main job are noted as being unemployed. What most people don’t seem to understand is that it’s possible to extrapolate other answers from the data given.
Nearly three million people had filled it out online by the end of the 6th… we have over 4.5 million people here, so roughly a third have not filled it out.
But I sure you are right and it’s considered wildly successful by the bureaucrats having not managed to reach 33% so far.
(Against paper, which was probably a lot more successful).
Change and our reluctance to engage with it gets tougher as we age….The death of Freddie Mercury and John Bonham was the end of decent music. Remember when we repaired electric jugs, irons and taps…ahhhh the good old days.
Nearly three million people had filled it out online by the end of the 6th… we have over 4.5 million people here, so roughly a third have not filled it out.
Which is a lie. Nearly three million people filled it out online but many more had filled it out on paper but they’re going to take a while to come in.
(Against paper, which was probably a lot more successful).
[Citation Needed]
As I said – it’s always taken weeks and months to do the census.
You’re a really good advocate for the census Draco, I like your genuine commitment. The extrapolation of census statistics would do my head in but I could imagine you digging it. Would you entertain a full-time gig there?
I’m not taking the piss here Draco, I like you. I’d like to bounce some ideas off you. If it’s ok with you I wonder if an author here is able to send my log-in email address to you?
I might be barking up a disinterested tree, that’s cool too Draco. I still like you. Bastard.
Well done on gaining a useful qualification. I await the announcement of a Govt job (because private sector bad) with a salary just enough to live on (cos profit bad). Alternatively massive voluntary tax payments. Cos lots of tax good.
He founded it presumably assisted greatly in funding it but I greatly doubt he is CEO and am certain he wouldn’t be head of HR so why are you deciding to piss on him for the faults of middle management type muppets employed by it?
So in this instance – there is zero allegation against Bono, There is nothing showing he was involved in lack of investigations etc. Nothing at all to infer he has done anything wrong at all.
He did however help fund a charity that has done a lot of good and one assumes invested a lot of time and financial support to it in order to help people.
Yet he sums up everything that is wrong with the liberal Elite.
James, you obviously know what Ed is referring to, so stop being an idiot.
Ed, while I think that James’ comments yesterday were ‘casually’ racist, I don’t see what that has to do with the conversations here. You look like you are flaming, so I suggest you pull your head in as well.
Both of you can take this as a moderator warning. If you can’t play nicely I will take you both out of the sandpit for a time. This petty flaming puts other people off and adds nothing to the debates.
As I do you. And I say that given your comments on exploited immigrants who apparently should just learn to ‘move on’ in true H1/H2 pragmatism…after having been bullshiited to by agencies of/or by agencies the NZ state is responsible for.
Munned Stullet….move on man, cut your losses…. stop pushing shit uphill.
Forget the lifetime of earnings you’ve attained…
Nah man…you’re fault you were conned by NZ govt agency approved consiltants….move on….start again ya lazy munter.
Actually @SM, i used to take you at face value till I realised….fill in the rest for yourself
Yet he sums up everything that is wrong with the liberal Elite.
It is. If we didn’t have the rich, and that includes Bono, then we wouldn’t have need of charities to address the problems that the rich create by their simple existence.
‘Bono (and his charity One) earned kudos for insisting countries, corporations and people pay taxes in pursuit of a fairer society. In 2011, Bono, 57, who, according to CNN has an estimated net worth of $590 million, further angered his countrymen when he espoused the values of Ireland’s 12.5 percent corporate tax breaks. He went on the record to claim that these breaks for multi-billion dollar companies had brought Ireland the “only prosperity we’ve ever known.” He had a point, but as the locals noted, Bono wasn’t even giving the country a meager 12.5 percent any longer.’
More evidence of the duplicitous U2 lead singer.
The Irish hate him.
Because he is a tax dodger.
‘But to huge sections of the Irish population, Bono is about as welcome as cold sores and spam email. How can that be?’
‘it’s another issue that really dogs the band: their tax arrangements. In 2006, U2 moved part of their business to the Netherlands, where the tax rate on royalty earnings is more favourable for artists. When you operate on U2’s financial scale, this is a major detail. Ireland was scalded by the global 2008 financial crash; communities were eroded by austerity, while the band’s reputation as “tax dodgers” persisted. As People Before Profit party TD Bríd Smith says: “Bono is seen as part of that cohort of very wealthy people who avoid paying tax in this country but enjoy the fruits of being of this country.”
Interesting speech from Jeremy Corbyn to Scottish Labour. Starting off with a reference to the Spanish Civil War(!) and using terms like comrade to address the audience, and socialism to describe the party.
The themes of ending austerity, national renewal, a genuine economic alternative and hope for a better society in the future are what appeals to youth.
At 11:30 he starts to talk about Brexit and makes some interesting comments. Labour seems to have accepted Brexit – I don’t think Corbyn was really ever that keen on the United States of Neoliberal Europe anyway – and is seeking to paint the Tories as using Brexit for an exercise in disaster capitalism.
I don’t fancy his chances on getting a decent new customs union deal and retaining the single market with the EU. The idea Britain can regulate the importation of cheap Labour and remain in the customs union and single market seems fanciful to me. I don’t think Corbyn has yet grasped the nature of the European antipathy to the UK.
The EU bureaucracies response to Brexit so far has been arrogant, high handed and rigid. Talking to Europeans in Holland, Spain, Germany and France the public are kinda over the British hating on the EU anyway, and are sad the Brits leaving but over the moaning from them when they were in. The EU technocrats have got nothing to gain in cutting the British a good deal and a lot to lose if they make leaving the march to a centralised, technocrat run Europe look like a viable alternative.
Corbyn’s EU policy hinges on his promise of getting a good deal for Britain. Time will tell! But I support the idea of Britain leaving the EU if the EU will not allow the UK Labour party to carry out socialist reforms.
The EU has already shown it’s dedication to, keeping the power of banks, opposing Labour rights and community Democracy, and the ruthless bankrupting of any country that does not carry out Neo-liberal “reforms”.
The EU’s biggest problem with Britain leaving, is the population of other EU countries seeing what can happen when Socialist “Democracy” returns to Britain, under Corbyn.
Sanctuary it was Dundee’s large contribution of fighters to the Spanish Civil War that he was referring to, because he was speaking in Dundee.
And he kept referring to ‘our movement’ And he praised Ann somebody who got 70% of some vote, and that she was only the second woman to become Rector of some university. I think he was touching base with all the things that Labour Dundee had to be proud of.
I haven’t got time to listen to it properly and indeed i can’t hear clearly even though I have my sound options open fully – my hearing usually pretty good. So thanks for making this available. Others will no doubt get a lot from it.
Christianson, a tourist information adviser in the northern city of Akureyri, says Icelanders are becoming increasingly frustrated with having to queue, slow traffic on the ring road that circles the main island, and hearing English rather than Icelandic everywhere they go.
More worryingly, the millions of pairs of feet trampling on areas of natural beauty is unsustainable, while infrastructure is under intense pressure. Sound familiar?
Sutton was one of the keen devotees of Roger Douglas et al – (Roger Douglas, Michael Bassett, Mike Moore and David Lange were Labour Party politicians instrumental in the overthrow of their leader Bill Rowling …) – who went on to introduce us to the dreadful neoiberal, free market that has cost us so much.
Trotter’s essay quotes David Lange, who tried to withdraw from the Gang of Four, actually throwing out Roger which was disputed and reversed by his colleagues. David referred to Bill Sutton needing a brain transplant but that a compatible rabbit couldn’t be found. Trotter calls that a ‘vicious joke’. I think it was a well-deserved jab, and he might well have referred to a ‘compatible rat’.
Sutton is a scientist, and latterly a senior policy analyst for about 11 years. He must be suffering from what many scientists (and also many academics) fall prey to, a profound belief in the superiority of his mind and training and the rightness of his own decisions.
(Sutton has a PhD in biochemistry (Massey University) and worked as a research scientist from 1969 to 1984. After retiring from politics he worked as a senior policy analyst from 1996 to 2007.) Thanks wikipedia
Now the Ashurst bypass, first promised to be finished by March 2018 hasn’t even started and is merely drifting ever further into the future.
Is there anything, apart from taking lots and lots of selfies with primary school kids that our current lot of no-hopers has managed?
Well, if you need the land you can use the Public Works Act, or whatever it might be called these days. That is what is normally done in these circumstances and previous Labour Governments certainly weren’t phased by the idea.
That is of course what you would have to do if you decided to use the new railways of course for transport but I’m sure you know that. I think it is a great deal more likely that the NZTA have been told not to do anything as the current lot of bunnies in the Government can’t find any money.
As for using ships. There is a port at Wellington and another one at Napier of course but I’m not really sure that is the answer to transport between the Wairarapa or Southern Hawke’s Bay and the Manawatu.
I’m afraid you cannot blame the previous National Government for things that the present Government are delaying. Good try but no cigar.
I’m loving the right wing attack lines, “labour are not delivering”.
As it stands, we have a civil service who are no longer servants of the public, but ideology and preserving the status quo. Labour, NZ1st and the Greens can’t do anything until this pile of crap national left them with is fixed.
But that’s what works Alwyn. Selfies with school kids and endangered species gets us a Green/Labour govt next time round. We’re living a country where the most popular show on TV is Shortland Street.
“Hey Mr Polluter, this is how much you’re getting for the farm that’s been in your family for 7 generations, to hell with your skyrocket valuation. Grab your BBQ and Hi Lux and piss off.”…….Not so much, msm suicide.
“Selfies with school kids and endangered species”. Well that part is correct although the rest of the sentence is unlikely to be true.
The endangered species in this is the Green Party, after all. They aren’t likely to survive the next election. I don’t think they will be missed. When you consider the stuff-up their leader has overseen in the Census (under 3 million people recorded) and one of the candidates for the XX chromosome spot is of for a fortnights holiday in New York their work ethic doesn’t really impress.
Alwyn, the quality of your comments is declining 🙁
When you consider the stuff-up their leader has overseen in the Census (under 3 million people recorded) and one of the candidates for the XX chromosome spot is of for a fortnights holiday in New York their work ethic doesn’t really impress.
I fail to see how you can possibly claim that the quality of my comments is declining. The links you include confirm precisely what I said, don’t they?
I said.
1. “Under 3 million people recorded”. Your link says that the total is nearing 3 million. Perfect score I would say.
2. “Genter is off for a fortnights holiday in New York”. Your link says she is off to attend a session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York. She left on the 10th. The session lasts from the 12th to the 23rd. I suppose you could say that t is only for 12 days, not a fortnight but I’ll bet she is away for more than 14 days. http://www.unwomen.org/en/csw/csw62-2018
Spot on for accuracy
That looks like a 100% record to me. Do you ever get close to that?
That looks like a 100% record to me. Do you ever get close to that?
No, never, my PB is 97% (but that was some time ago) so your 100% hit rate is very impressive indeed.
However, I don’t want to burst your well-deserved jubilant and celebratory mood (i.e. your bubble), I really don’t, but you do realise that so far 3 million people have taken part online, don’t you?
At the end of the collection process, Stats NZ is aiming for 70 percent of households to have taken part online. [again, my emphasis]
But I agree that this amounts to a major “stuff-up” on behalf of the responsible Minister, James Shaw, and he has no choice but to hand in his resignation to the PM.
It is just not on that Julie Anne Genter goes to New York for at least (!) a whole fortnight for a meeting of only 12 days, all expenses paid for no doubt, and then does SFA. I double your bet that after that meeting she will be in full holiday mode and will have nothing else on her agenda. What’s worse, she might even rest her feet on a table with the excuse that she’s pregnant!! How long will she be away for again? Heads should roll for this crime to the NZ Taxpayer.
It is good that there are still honest people holding this Government to account and in particular that CS faction who call themselves the Green Party – those water melons can never be trusted near power or with NZ Taxpayers money, that’s for sure.
And I do apologise; your latest comment was of the superior quality that we have come to relish here. I mean, you cannot argue with 100% accuracy, can you?
Wow!
You must have been drinking something very potent.
On the other hand I think your comment even exceeds mine in its flamboyance, and I was trying very hard.
You win. Your comment is funnier than mine.
Alwyn, are you complaining that the Labour/NZ First government have not confiscated the required land to speed up construction?
From the linked article it sounds like the delays are caused by NZTA negotiating in good faith to acquire the land.
Do you have any inside knowledge of the situation?
And what does this bypass have to do with promises made about the new road? AFAIK work/planning on the new road has not been delayed.
See my comment to DTB about how you can obtain needed land. It isn’t “confiscation”. You have to pay a fair price and in practice it is the only way that any roads, or railways, can be built.
As far as the new road is concerned the best we are being promised is that we might hear about options by the end of March. “might”.
Hardly what Little was saying last year is it?
“It will be built as quickly as possible, using the powers available to the Government to speed up consenting and planning, and ensuring funding is immediately available.”
My understanding is that compulsory acquisition via the public works act is usually a last resort. Otherwise why is NZTA currently negotiating rather than acquiring?
So you agree that there were no pre election promises regarding the delayed Ashhurst bypass?
Regarding the new road, I have not seen any evidence that that work/planning has been delayed, or that the government is not using all powers available to them. Can you provide any?
It is nothing short of astonishing that the man who aggressively countered his government’s critics with the assertion, “There is no alternative!”, is unable to connect the dots between an economic and political system which insists that it represents the terminus of history, and these rising levels of political disillusionment and despair. If this, the neoliberal world order, is as good as it gets; and if all the truly meaningful decision-making powers have been taken out of the hands of politicians; then what, in God’s name, is the point of casting a vote?
It is time we took our power back away from the institutions that are designed to keep capitalism going despite it’s obvious failure to provide our society with what it needs.
This disgraceful incident should never have been allowed to occur in the first place …
Woman breaks leg at Middlemore hospital after having epidural for birth! Despite complaining of numbness in her right leg after the birth and having mobility difficulties, the new mother was forced to walk by the duty staff nurse. She fell, causing her right leg to collapse under her, fracturing her tibia!
The resulting bullshit and spin used by the hospital department management/hierarchy is incredibly mind boggling! What’s the matter with using plain simple language, while also acknowledging the accident was the responsibility of the duty nurse and the hospital, something which is blatantly obvious?
It will be interesting to see who is held accountable for this woman’s preventable accident while still in the care of the hospital!
They will blame the midwife if there is enough fuss. Never the hospital because it’s standard practise to require you to leave within a few hours of giving birth naturally and within 24 hours of a Caesarean. (At least that was what our family was told).
In the old days people stayed for 7 days in a maternity hospital and were taught how to care for the baby and had meals etc provided so you could concentrate on getting well and bonding.
Now to save the government money you bundle your newborn into a carseat within hours and have to go else where.
Possibly that explains our abuse statistics, it’s not exactly a good start for a baby and a Mother or family.
Also unless you went private you would be hard pressed to see a obstetrician in the leadup and during the birth of a baby.
After a few days in a birth centre if you choose to go to one, the after care goes to the charity Plunket because the government does not provide any or see the need to provide any government run after birth care.
Or as my Doctor would put it.
“You must remember that life is a terminal disease”
My Mother would have been more succinct
“Nobody gets out of here alive”
Theres a different between part funding a charity which needs to fund raise and accept donations from corporates than a fully funding NZ maternity aftercare service that is focused 100% on the job at hand (not fundraising).
I’d say the neoliberal business model of maternity care is NOT working if you look at the abuse statistics of this county and our poor efforts for children’s care and wellbeing and our dropping ranking is the world on this.
Our birth stats are going down. We aren’t a land of milk and honey and a good place to bring up children any more, except to people who can afford to buy what they need to compensate for NZ basic care, or come from somewhere really crowded, or have been in poverty or a refugee camp.
There were 1,608 fewer births and 429 fewer deaths compared with 2015.
The total fertility rate dropped to a low of 1.87 births per woman, compared with an annual average of about 2.02 from 1980–2015.
The infant mortality rate was 3.6 deaths per 1,000 live births.
(Between 1980 and 1986 we seemed to be below the natural increase, and are beginning to show now a similar trend.)
When I had my kids in the early 80’s I was allowed to stay in the maternity ward for 5 days.
For me, it was crucial, because I got the help that I needed to establish breast-feeding. (Not necessarily an easy or straightforward process.
Sadly several women there switched to bottles because they simply didn’t get the necessary help and advice.
There are many reasons for early mobization post anaesthesia, chiefly prevention of thrombsis, if this woman had died of a pulmonary embolism because she was not encouraged to mobilise it would be the health professional still at fault. In the not too distant past women were bed ridden for days post partum and the died of preventable causes, so whats one broken leg compared to the lives saved.
Oh sounds a bit regimented. What is appropriate for this patient at this particular time. Don’t want people afraid of nurses and hospitals do we, no Nurse Ratched stuff.
I take on board your comparison with life threatening DVTs. However, it is definitely not satisfactory for a new mother to suffer a fractured leg immediate post partum, through staff failure to recognise a problem existed after receiving epidural anaesthesia. This is something which could have been avoided had the nurse been doing her job as an observant, caring health professional. Negligence is not conducive towards a good start for the new mother or her baby.
During the time I had my two children, it was mandatory for new mothers to rest up, bond with baby and establish good feeding patterns in the maternity hospital, usually for about a week or thereabouts. Most of us mothers were encouraged to move around, at a level that was comfortable for us, but not forced if mobility caused pain or difficulties. Also during that post natal period, the hospital physiotherapist visited, giving appropriate exercise programmes to assist mobility, as well as to prevent DVTs from forming. This system worked quite well for most new mothers and their babies.
Seems these days good, positive, as well as respectful maternity care is non existent. More the pity!
I’d like to see ACC expanded to include sickness – basically turn it into income protection insurance for illness and injury. This could partly be funded by removing the requirement to provide sick leave, and levying employers more on the savings. Any thoughts?
Sick leave can be utilised for other than the worker’s own sickness, no matter what the company allows or is told. It is a safety net for families, though may not be used because of harsh necessity and resentment by the business against those not collapsing at work. My sister was a teacher, very devoted and hard working, and the management of her school were a bit snippy when she needed time off. Don’t think of cutting sick leave is my thought.
Craig H
You are so trusting. The ACC rules can be changed, subverted etc. They already are a different beast than when they were started. The things they do to the needy people on their books, and the ones the reject, are not good reading. I think they are reducing costs by putting people’s applications through a computerised system, ie being sorted by robot brains. Some of the humans weren’t so good because the government set pet medical doctors onto them to decide whether they could come in without being bitten, or have to endure a fight. Don’t think ACC is some reliably good organisation to help the community. I think they are something useful because their reserves look good on a balance sheet for the country so we can keep a low interest rate on our borrowing, so we can have some money circulating like a real economy.
The Holidays Act can be changed too if the government of the day decides to. Provided the ACC Act sets the entitlements into legislation rather than regulations, it’s as safe (or not) as any other legislative entitlement.
Too much power in one hands can create misery. Don’t think you quite understand how our government slowly has unwound, and sometimes quickly, legislative entitlements. Sorry to burst your bubble.
The point wasn’t to see how many cars could be crushed it was to stop the cars being in such way they would be crushed
The yobs cut way down on what they were doing so Jude scored a major win on that point
And shes number 4 with a portfolio that will see her get media attention so any faltering in the polls and Jude can lead National to the promised land so its a win-win-win situation all round (except for Twyford and Labour of course)
The Government, and it’s Minister, Phil Twyford what to build shitloads of houses.. Lots of New Zealanders want shitloads of houses built, fast. The National Party, and it’s aspiring leader, Judith Collins want to stop them doing this.
I’m terribly sorry ED I never realised you were hard of hearing.
This is an interview about the very important rights of animals. Ali G invited animal rights ambassadors to talk with him about how we should treat animals. The guests did their best to explain why it is wrong to perform experiments on animals at home, an important question that was asked was –
“Would you eat a chicken if another chicken would die if you said no!”
Terribly sorry Stunned Mullet but you have been coming on TS long enough to know that we like to have some information about what is going on in your brain, what point it wants to make about what the video contains so we know whether we want to watch it. Is it going to be fun, or informative, or like something that happens in NZ that is worthy of notice etc.
What gets me is not just what Keating says, but the conditions that underpin it. It seems as if the “professional politicians” that replaced the old representative ones are inhibited from meaningfully engaging in realpolitik, due to their subservience to corporate and financial interests. The fact is, the whole world did not magically transform into dedicated adherents to the so-called Washington Consensus, and their response has been limited to bullying and cajoling those who have not succumbed: “It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen”, they seem to think. Keating refers to this approach as a “lack of strategy” and praises Trump for at least trying.
The last two sentences: Mr Keating said Russia had the power to “obliterate” the US, and urged Mr Trump to maintain a workable relationship with the Kremlin.
“Russia alone has the capacity to obliterate the United States. If you’re a country that lives under the threat of obliteration, you generally should have a policy.”
I wonder if we should campaign to oust David Parker for signing the TPP. He hasn’t kept his promises. It isn’t in the public interest. And most importantly it won’t bring down the coalition. But it will make them think long and hard before shafting New Zealand again.
The President went to Pennsylvania, singled out a black Congresswoman from California, and called her stupid. That’s not race-baiting. That’s racist.— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) March 11, 2018
Two weeks in a row. Apparently the president calling a black Congresswoman “low IQ” is part of the stump speech now.— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) March 11, 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested Jews and other minorities in Russia, including Tatars and Ukranians, could be to blame for meddling in the US presidential election.
“Maybe they’re not even Russians,” he told NBC News. “Maybe they’re Ukrainians, Tatars, Jews, just with Russian citizenship. Even that needs to be checked.”
Perhaps tRump has no intention of being voted out.
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts state secretary William Galvin is strongly opposing President Donald Trump’s proposal to dispatch Secret Service agents to polling places during federal elections.
A provision of the Homeland Security reauthorization bill would allow armed Secret Service agents to enter polling locations at the direction of the President. Galvin says he is “horrified that this is even under consideration.”
TS …. something in recent times you come to love to hate.
The commenters with such a love of their own arseholes and self-adjuged intelligence. The egos. The dried up old public servants trying to remain relevant as contributors (probably … i was going to mention Paekakariki or Browns Bay …. best not go there or it’ll provoke an Ad-like epistle justifying ilk and neo-lib, or at least neo-lib-lite ideology).
An ability to sympathise rather than empathise….there goes the progressive Chardonnay TVNZ7 leftie.
Time is running out though folks. The game is up…. which is why NZ elected a change. Hopefully the MMP govts participants may soon come to realise what put them there, and why, and what is expected of them.
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
AMP refuses to pay up.
“Insurance litigator Andrew Hooker has taken on the case for free, saying while refusing to pay out on a lapsed policy legal, Dishington was “a dead man walking” and the insurer should show some compassion.
“The very thing that led to him not paying the premium was what killed him.”
Victim had paid AMP $70,000 over several years before he became incapacitated.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12008859
The government should boot out parasitical private insurers and take over business themselves.
Yes, the gummint should immediately nationalise all insurance companies, along with banks and law firms.
the governments insurance record is nothing to rely upon…..I submit EQC and Southern Response
A.C.C.
that too
So change the government to one that doesn’t believe in neoliberalism.that was good until Key and Judge got their hands on it.
The solution again is simple.
Abandon neoliberalism.
It used to be better back when the government wasn’t using insurance and all other state services as a cash cow.
The problem is that the government stopped acting as a government and started acting as a business.
“The problem is that the government stopped acting as a government and started acting as a business.”
Thats true enough but there does remain one advantage even so….and thats the government will not declare bankruptcy (or at least not at the drop of a hat) and walk away from any proved liability
You are starting to appreciate the need to rid the country of neoliberalism.
So we didn’t have private banks, law firms and insurance companies before neoliberalism?
Of course we did.
However banks were deregulated then.
You know this, so why are you wasting my time?
I have little time for the rabid defenders of an economic system which will bring about the 6th extinction.
He may know that but I don’t, so please elaboarte.
Here are some sources than answer your question.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deregulation
https://teara.govt.nz/en/banking-and-finance/page-2
Can you cut that RW smartarse stuff solkta?
So make your mind up. Are you talking about more regulation or are you talking about nationalisation?
You obviously have little time for anybody who challenges what you write. Trolls are like that. That you would suggest that I am a defender of neoliberalism just shows how little attention you actually pay.
I cannot be bothered with your right wing nonsense.
There is nothing right wing about asking you what you are talking about. And nothing right wing about me.
Says you. You are of course the voice of reason….and a legend in you’re own mind.
We all defer to your greatness and wonder how in the fuck we can ever be ‘like’ you.
I’m depressed. I WANNA BE LOIK SOLKTA.
Yes we did. We also had state insurance, banks and law firms.
And Public Trust.
These days the public trust just screws little old ladies out of their inheritances.
I know I am one – that is a little old lady who is shortly to be an ex customer of Public Trust to protect what I hope to be able to leave to my chosen beneficiaries.
He may have spent a little too much time in Cuba over the holidays. It’s good he’s coming around though.
If we could renationalise the banks, we would be far less vulnerable to international financial interests.
If you want to know who really runs NZ, follow the money.
And a lot of that money is Chinese.
What you got against Chinese?
Have you Brady’s comments?
No. What have you got against Chinese?
Totalitarian expansionist China, you mean.
Pair of racists
Paranoia much. The comment was about Chinese (probably black) mobey…. not Chinese (as in people as a race or ethnicity). Could just as easily have been Russian or the proceeds from any other expansionist wannabe Empire
More vile racism
What is wrong with the Chinese.
I see you are throwing accustaion at others about being racist (without providing a quote)
If we could renationalise the banks
We’ve always had private banks in New Zealand.
“The government’s ownership of the BNZ, and use of it as its banker, allowed it to become the largest trading bank. It was fully nationalised in 1945.
An 1865 law which established the Post Office Savings Bank also curbed the rights of other savings banks and enabled it to absorb competitors. By the mid-1950s the Post Office Savings Bank controlled around 80% of the personal savings market.”
https://teara.govt.nz/en/banking-and-finance/page-1
We may have always had private banks, but we’ve also had strong historical Government intervention going by the above.
“The government’s ownership of the BNZ, and use of it as its banker, allowed it to become the largest trading bank. It was fully nationalised in 1945.
An 1865 law which established the Post Office Savings Bank also curbed the rights of other savings banks and enabled it to absorb competitors. By the mid-1950s the Post Office Savings Bank controlled around 80% of the personal savings market.”
https://teara.govt.nz/en/banking-and-finance/page-1
Maybe those private banks haven’t always had such a strong influence though..
The issue is New Zealand’s banks set a sector profit record in 2017, their profits rising 7.35 per cent to $5.1 billion.
Most of those banks are not NZ owned banks any more therefore NZ does not get that profit that we would get if it was owned by a NZ company.
Apparently NZ banks are one of the most profitable in the world!
(Possibly a complete lack of government regulation, such as not even requiring the bank to guarantee cash deposits, have helped us achieve this dubious honour).
The now profitable (mostly Australian owned) banks were sold off by our government for a song in the 1980’s and 1990’s, like Bank of New Zealand, etc….
Yes.
DTB
Has listed under Yes the link to –
https://thestandard.org.nz/why-insurance-should-be-a-state-monopoly/
Which contains the statement –
“A state monopoly can be run at close to cost.”
This applies to more than insurance. It can also be applied to state housing.
It was only National’s cult rigidity that caused it to bring state housing up to market level in stages to make it less noticeable and less of a financial shock to everyone.
Housing could have a base housing cost set at new based on costs. Then the aim should be to recover that cost over many years on an amortised basis, plus an allowance for repairs and maintenance each year, these to be carried out regularly. There is no reason for state housing to be provided free, the people in them may be entitled to government pensions, and out of those they might need rental housing and if it is government housing they would be able to afford it, it might be somewhat cheaper than private, but sufficient for government retrieval of cost plus.
You have listed a lot of businesses now Ed that you think that the government should take over.
Banks, Law firms, insurers.
Any others?
I would certainly ban hate speech by virulent racists as exhibited by you yesterday .
You hit a new low.
Really – Please site any hate speech from me yesterday.
Oh and answer the question.
‘
A message to everyone from the women of the world . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=78&v=8JfJhJWxB9Q
Yes change it to man and it becomes even more obvious. LOL LOL
The new style of census seems to have been a disaster. This is what the country is coming to.
I didn’t fill it in. But is sounds like it was designed with extensive consultation from Wellington committees, hence completely out of touch with modern life.
There is a certain irony about worrying about A4 sized mould in a census while not actually understanding the vast amounts of people who don’t even have a home to live in to even be included in the census or even want to be identified, or to calculate the hours of their ‘main’ job when people don’t even have a main job anymore.
Paul Little: Hard to make sense of the Census
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12008618
ECO MAORIs Kiwi Bank ac 389019048573100 Please help me to sort the nz police out
I decided against trying to use PayPal to receive donations .I decided to copy
Thestandards safe way of appealing and receiving donations I set up a Kiwi Bank AC
So he tangata the people of Aoteraoroa New Zealand who support ECO MAORI can use internet banking to make donations and know that there bank accounts are safe after they have made a donation . ECO MAORI will use the donations to SUE the nz police for all the breaches to mine and my Whano Privacy Rights & Human Rights a lot of people can see this has been happening to ECO MAORI when I win my case I will set up a
Charitable Trust and I will pay the money that I used and any extra donations into this Trust account and appeal to anyone else in Aoteraoroa who need help with finance to SUE the nz police for there in justices I will copy bank statements on this site to let he tangata the people know that ECO MAORI has Honest Honorable and transparent intentions to use your hard earned Putea Money. .
Kia Kaha Ka kite ano
Good morning Corin Dan from Q & A on TV1 I’v had to face up to the silver back effect and buy me some reading glasses lol.
Its assume that good fortune shines down on a Labour lead Governments finances the working common persons Government .
What happened to a Government that was all about the wealthy well you already know the answer to that question Te tangata Te tangata Te tangata treating the people humanly and fairly look after Papatunanuku and all her beautiful creatures and good fortune is what you will receive .
shonky gave the wealthy who did not need more money more money tax cuts and were did that come from well the poor common person he put GST up 2. 1/2 % .
shonkys famous words were I will not put up GST .
Business people you will have to use your initiative and management will have to earn the money and become more productive to support a higher wage like OUR Australian cousins do. Pay more money for the common person and Ladys equally then there is more money for business . Ka kite ano P.S I believe there should be quote rs for ladys in management at 25% Kia kaha Eco maori will still voice his opinion when I see anyone taking us down the wrong path
I got mahi kai pai
Here is a industry that would increase OUR gross domestic product by 1 Billion dollars in 3 years it will creat hundreds of jobs for our rual communitys that have had a sharp decline in income in the last 30 years .I have seen this decline with my own eyes .When I was a young man there were Kiwi fruit orchards vineyards all around the East Coast Ngati Purou sheep and Beef farms were all well mantained and employment was a lot higher than it is at the minute.
I can even remember the Helicopter flying Rob Muldoon to Rangitokia or Tiktiki I was on the other side of the Waiapu river at Tikapa this is how much Mana Te Taiwhiti had in those days . This industry will creat income with low impact to the enviroment ka kite ano
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/102044376/medical-marijuana-a-billiondollar-industry-says-budding-exporter-whose-has-staff-with-a-past
This is what happens when one does not learn the culture and does not show respect to that culture the people who are investing in there country lose out big time its time we respected these great people and there culture well thats ECO MAORI view enough said here is a link to Newsroom .
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/03/10/95465/rod-oram-fonterras-big-big-beingmate-problems Ka kite ano P.S its THE MONTH of the wood tiger
If teaching was a male dominated sector of OUR society they would be payed a lot more here is a link showing the disparities of in come between Ladys and men this has to change as the jobs aren’t easier because someone is a lady if fact its harder for Ladys in male dominated industrys.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/10/top-paid-men-women-gender-gap Ka kite ano
Good evening News Hub on TV 3 well I have already written about some of the topics you have covered to night .
The Poverty Bay name change is a topic I would like to write about te tangata will already know my opinion of this the Original name would be nice .
Celebrating the NZ Aotearoa wars will educate all Kiwis about what happened and about OUR Maori culture I hope all Kiwis will be proud of our Maori culture as ECO MAORI is Kia kaha ka kite ano P.S its been a good weekend for our sports ka pai
You have been publishing this a lot recently (and the previous give-a-little and paypal).
How is it going?
Got a lawyer to help you as yet? You know a lot will help on a contingency basis if they think you have a case – which means you wont need the money up front.
I requested paper forms over a week ago (it said it would take upp to a week to get it to me). Still haven’t received it. Sent them a message yesterday.
I will fill it out.
But can see how the many homeless would find it to much hassle to find a way to get access to fill in the form (on or offline).
Seriously! Conservatory?!
It’s part of our +rock star+ economy that the MSM and government tells us we have.
If you only ask the right questions and send it to people who feel comfortable in their conservatory with good internet access and reliable postal service, Wellington gets the results they want.
Hi Carolyn, how were the desperate homeless folks’ census statistics gathered in the past? I don’t think foot soldier collectors toured under bridges and parks after dark.
The majority of New Zealanders considered homeless have letterboxes. I believe we are apparently the worst in the OECD because our statistics include people like me when I was living in luxury at my sister’s place.
Of course we need to address our problems but to do so we need an accurate handle on the problem.
This footage from downtown Los Angeles Christmas Day a few months ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnFaWB2wce8
For the previous census, statsnz did indeed have people taking forms around known sleeping areas. Dunno about the one just been.
I quite liked the qualitative lifestyle questions in this census. Each one individually sounds a bit silly, but if you’re a person in a dwelling with widespread mould, no conservatory, and you have difficulty cleaning yourself (which points to flexibility and activity levels) then that’s a different picture from someone who’s perfectly fine in a clean, dry home with a conservatory or two.
Yep, there was. Also going round known freedom camping spots to DoC huts. The census has always taken weeks to complete.
If you can’t clean yourself up, how reliable are your other faculties?
Also I think the problem is, the census won’t be an accurate picture because there are serious issues with how the census itself was run and people either did not know about the changes of arbitrary deciding to get people to go onto the Internet rather than using people going door to door as in previous censuses.
It you count the homeless, couch surfers, illegal immigrants, people who can’t or won’t use a computer, people who didn’t know about it, (easy to do if you seldom use mail and don’t watch TV) and non English speakers then you probably have about 25% of people who won’t complete it.
So it’s not gonna provide any answers that are meaningful to the government.
People and paper would have been better like the old days, but these days it’s easier to pretend that forms mean everybody’s needs and there is a zealous willingness to complete them. (Possibly a Wellington curse).
Cleaning requires joint flexibility and/or physical proportions within a certain range. Next time you sit down on the loo, pretend you can’t bend your back without shards of pain, or that you can’t rotate your shoulder to raise your hand up to 45 degrees. As if you’d had a vehicle injury years ago or arthritis were well-entrenched. And even if someone can’t fill in the forms, there’s provision for the forms to be filled in by caregivers (not that a physical disability comes close to meaning one doesn’t have the “faculties” to fill in a form).
The couch surfers get the forms from the people who own the couch. The homeless are sought out by census workers. As are immigrants. After all that, the results are compared with testing exercises and previous results to calculate the estimated resident population (to account for internal migration on the day and some systemic issues).
If this census does indeed miss 25% of the population compared to the one five years ago, it would stand out like a dog’s bollocks. Most of the organisation was done under the nats, so we’ll see, but I reckon you’ll find that they know what dwellings exist and will be a-knocking on any that haven’t filled in the forms.
Ahhh ok, cool, thanks.
Yes, Graeme pointed out an aspect of this new online system that I hadn’t considered. With the paper version they state things like ‘If you answered Yes move on to the next question’. If answering ‘No’ the additional questions were all visible. With the online version, if answering ‘Yes’ we don’t know of the additional questions. I quite like seeing the additional questions but in the name of KISS I can see benefits.
Yes there seemed to be quite a focus on “So what sort of houses are we all living in?” I can see that generating useful stats. Polls and surveys seem to be all over the place and to go forward as best we can, we need to know where we’re at now.
One of the changes with the move online is that the sub-menus and questions are now hidden to unaffected people. In the old days of paper it was all there but you’d be directed to specific sections base on your answer.
One question that had me wondering was the Maori decent one, 3 options yes, no, don’t know. I selected don’t know as I have several people with no past down the tree. I then got directed to a question asking if I knew my iwi. Now that should have been picked up in re-release testing, which brings the whole thing into question. What other errors where in the thing?
They might have been playing it safe in the face of human politics and existential crises.
StatsNZ have written screeds about how to deal with people who put their ethnicity down as “New Zealander”, for example.
“I didn’t fill it in”
Why not?
Do you not have a social and legal obligation to do so?
Social obligation.
You don’t know what that is.
I do which is why I mentioned it.
Are you going to try and start flame wars with personal insults everywhere?
Ah James – never change! You are astonishingly predictable for a human being(?) Thank goodness you’re here to extinguish those ‘flame wars’.
Regarding “personal insults”, I have a simple question about the opening sentence of a comment you made yesterday.
My question: Is this sentence misogynistic, when stripped of its off-colour ‘tit-for-tat’ camouflage?
“I see you true colours, shining through”, so please consider upgrading your camouflage.
If you quote the entire thing it is obvious.
A partial quote is just poor form and dishonest.
Does the quote in this link convey your intent, James, or do you want more?
https://thestandard.org.nz/doofus-of-the-week-march-10-2018/#comment-1459186
“As it stands, however, James’ opening (‘shock jock’) sentence is a nasty misogynistic slur”.
yes – Quote the entire post and you will see how obvious it is.
Funny how Ive had to ask twice now – yet you refuse to post it. Could be just be that it would show your post up to be dishonest?
Thank-you fior inviting me to quote your entire comment, I may do that in a future Open Mike.
Your continuing failure to acknowledge your misunderstanding of ‘tit for tat’, which was the only justification you offered for your initial misogynistic slur:
is genuinely puzzling.
Maybe the light will dawn if I being responses to your more objectional ‘twits’ with the following:
The remedy is in your hands. I predict that you will continue to maintain that there is nothing wrong with your initial misogynistic attack on Anne.
Yes, I wonder about the wisdom of publically claiming a refusal to complete the census. This from a recent Stuff article…
“If you don’t, here’s what Stats NZ has to say: “After census day, any household who is yet to complete their census forms will be contacted again by letter. … People who choose not to fill out their census forms can be fined between $50 and $500.”
Yes he does.
I didn’t fill it in because I didn’t know it was on, I have everything automated and use email mostly to keep in touch, therefore seldom check paper mail and I don’t normally watch TV, let alone adds.
Nothing on Facebook and did not notice any adds on The Standard or Daily Blog for it (2nd and 3rd ranking blogs) which are my NZ blog reads, or the guardian (apparently they have 10% NZ readership) therefore it was a pretty bad effort in my view if the census people were trying to reach an online community that does not watch TV or read right wing propaganda on a regular basis.
Apparently you can still fill it in, but I only noticed that because I saw a TV add as I was fast forwarding about the census.
Personally I can see A LOT of problems with their assumptions.
I’m a native English speaker what did they do for non English speakers in particular ones who don’t want to be identified or are visiting.
The other day I posted a link with some tenants who trashed a house. I really can’t see how people like that are going to be reached by this style of census, can you really see people logging onto the internet and filling it out who are in dire straits or who have major issues going on?
As for going around homeless people, didn’t the John Key government laughably go around a few cars, to do that to determine that homeless people did not want any help?
We have just found that our immigration statistic are based on people signing a form on their intentions on entering the country not actually on actual records of who is really here in this country.
Many people have multiple passports and can apparently be deported and just pop back again for years under a new name. No wonder OZ and the UK are getting tired of all our citizens piggy backing into their countries on NZ passports.
These people live on another planet if you think our government amateur attempts are the way to gather data from a widening group of people who live here.
That was a problem. Advertising can only reach those who engage with the advertising medium.
Still, now that you know about it you can ring 0800 CENSUS and organise an access code.
And I can see a lot of problems with your assumptions and they all revolve around your ignorance.
What’s one got to do with the other? Especially when John was actually lying about it.
I can’t see them being reached by any sort of census. Or do you think that census people should endanger their lives by approaching these people?
Would you have preferred John Key’s and National’s preferred idea of dropping the census because they watched the populace enough to already have the data?
Actually, it’s been very successful.
Please note that doing so is a legal requirement and that not doing so may come with a fine.
Actually, it sounds like you’re talking out your arse. Nearly three million people had filled it out online by the end of the 6th so that would be very much inline with modern life.
An A4 sized patch of mould can represent major problems with the house and as we have a housing crisis and houses that are killing people I’d say that it was fairly important.
People who don’t live in houses are being included.
People who put zero hours in their main job are noted as being unemployed. What most people don’t seem to understand is that it’s possible to extrapolate other answers from the data given.
Nearly three million people had filled it out online by the end of the 6th… we have over 4.5 million people here, so roughly a third have not filled it out.
But I sure you are right and it’s considered wildly successful by the bureaucrats having not managed to reach 33% so far.
(Against paper, which was probably a lot more successful).
Change and our reluctance to engage with it gets tougher as we age….The death of Freddie Mercury and John Bonham was the end of decent music. Remember when we repaired electric jugs, irons and taps…ahhhh the good old days.
+111
Which is a lie. Nearly three million people filled it out online but many more had filled it out on paper but they’re going to take a while to come in.
[Citation Needed]
As I said – it’s always taken weeks and months to do the census.
You’re a really good advocate for the census Draco, I like your genuine commitment. The extrapolation of census statistics would do my head in but I could imagine you digging it. Would you entertain a full-time gig there?
Depends upon what role is being offered. There is a reason why I just completed a Bch Comp Sci major programming after all.
Isn’t that an ideal qualification for a handful of very specialised roles in a place like NZ stats?
OK we need a plan Draco. From help desk to an ajar door in that dept?
Is that the ideal outcome?
I’m not taking the piss here Draco, I like you. I’d like to bounce some ideas off you. If it’s ok with you I wonder if an author here is able to send my log-in email address to you?
I might be barking up a disinterested tree, that’s cool too Draco. I still like you. Bastard.
Well done on gaining a useful qualification. I await the announcement of a Govt job (because private sector bad) with a salary just enough to live on (cos profit bad). Alternatively massive voluntary tax payments. Cos lots of tax good.
Bono epitomises everything that is wrong with the liberal elite.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/mar/10/bonos-anti-poverty-campaign-faces-claims-of-harassment
He founded it presumably assisted greatly in funding it but I greatly doubt he is CEO and am certain he wouldn’t be head of HR so why are you deciding to piss on him for the faults of middle management type muppets employed by it?
If you did a modicum of research or had a slight amount of knowledge, you would know Bono has form.
So in this instance – there is zero allegation against Bono, There is nothing showing he was involved in lack of investigations etc. Nothing at all to infer he has done anything wrong at all.
He did however help fund a charity that has done a lot of good and one assumes invested a lot of time and financial support to it in order to help people.
Yet he sums up everything that is wrong with the liberal Elite.
Sorry – you do not make sense.
I would not expect you to understand me.
And I have no intention of explaining myself to you after your overt racism yesterday.
“your overt racism yesterday.”
again – please quote it.
Ok you two,
James, you obviously know what Ed is referring to, so stop being an idiot.
Ed, while I think that James’ comments yesterday were ‘casually’ racist, I don’t see what that has to do with the conversations here. You look like you are flaming, so I suggest you pull your head in as well.
Both of you can take this as a moderator warning. If you can’t play nicely I will take you both out of the sandpit for a time. This petty flaming puts other people off and adds nothing to the debates.
Accusations of racism is Ed’s latest tactic to not engage with anyone who dares to not agree with his every utterance.
I find Ed amusing, albeit a little bit tragic.
As I do you. And I say that given your comments on exploited immigrants who apparently should just learn to ‘move on’ in true H1/H2 pragmatism…after having been bullshiited to by agencies of/or by agencies the NZ state is responsible for.
Munned Stullet….move on man, cut your losses…. stop pushing shit uphill.
Forget the lifetime of earnings you’ve attained…
Nah man…you’re fault you were conned by NZ govt agency approved consiltants….move on….start again ya lazy munter.
Actually @SM, i used to take you at face value till I realised….fill in the rest for yourself
please read my comment to James for a moderation note.
It is. If we didn’t have the rich, and that includes Bono, then we wouldn’t have need of charities to address the problems that the rich create by their simple existence.
One example of Bono’s form.
He is a tax dodger.
‘Inside Bono’s boundless hypocrisy’
‘Bono (and his charity One) earned kudos for insisting countries, corporations and people pay taxes in pursuit of a fairer society. In 2011, Bono, 57, who, according to CNN has an estimated net worth of $590 million, further angered his countrymen when he espoused the values of Ireland’s 12.5 percent corporate tax breaks. He went on the record to claim that these breaks for multi-billion dollar companies had brought Ireland the “only prosperity we’ve ever known.” He had a point, but as the locals noted, Bono wasn’t even giving the country a meager 12.5 percent any longer.’
https://nypost.com/2017/11/11/the-hypocrisy-of-bono-and-his-one-charity/amp/
More evidence of the duplicitous U2 lead singer.
The Irish hate him.
Because he is a tax dodger.
‘But to huge sections of the Irish population, Bono is about as welcome as cold sores and spam email. How can that be?’
‘it’s another issue that really dogs the band: their tax arrangements. In 2006, U2 moved part of their business to the Netherlands, where the tax rate on royalty earnings is more favourable for artists. When you operate on U2’s financial scale, this is a major detail. Ireland was scalded by the global 2008 financial crash; communities were eroded by austerity, while the band’s reputation as “tax dodgers” persisted. As People Before Profit party TD Bríd Smith says: “Bono is seen as part of that cohort of very wealthy people who avoid paying tax in this country but enjoy the fruits of being of this country.”
https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2017/jul/12/where-the-streets-have-no-statues-why-do-the-irish-hate-u2
Interesting speech from Jeremy Corbyn to Scottish Labour. Starting off with a reference to the Spanish Civil War(!) and using terms like comrade to address the audience, and socialism to describe the party.
The themes of ending austerity, national renewal, a genuine economic alternative and hope for a better society in the future are what appeals to youth.
At 11:30 he starts to talk about Brexit and makes some interesting comments. Labour seems to have accepted Brexit – I don’t think Corbyn was really ever that keen on the United States of Neoliberal Europe anyway – and is seeking to paint the Tories as using Brexit for an exercise in disaster capitalism.
I don’t fancy his chances on getting a decent new customs union deal and retaining the single market with the EU. The idea Britain can regulate the importation of cheap Labour and remain in the customs union and single market seems fanciful to me. I don’t think Corbyn has yet grasped the nature of the European antipathy to the UK.
The EU bureaucracies response to Brexit so far has been arrogant, high handed and rigid. Talking to Europeans in Holland, Spain, Germany and France the public are kinda over the British hating on the EU anyway, and are sad the Brits leaving but over the moaning from them when they were in. The EU technocrats have got nothing to gain in cutting the British a good deal and a lot to lose if they make leaving the march to a centralised, technocrat run Europe look like a viable alternative.
Corbyn’s EU policy hinges on his promise of getting a good deal for Britain. Time will tell! But I support the idea of Britain leaving the EU if the EU will not allow the UK Labour party to carry out socialist reforms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcqYjjSpizY
The EU has already shown it’s dedication to, keeping the power of banks, opposing Labour rights and community Democracy, and the ruthless bankrupting of any country that does not carry out Neo-liberal “reforms”.
The EU’s biggest problem with Britain leaving, is the population of other EU countries seeing what can happen when Socialist “Democracy” returns to Britain, under Corbyn.
Sanctuary it was Dundee’s large contribution of fighters to the Spanish Civil War that he was referring to, because he was speaking in Dundee.
And he kept referring to ‘our movement’ And he praised Ann somebody who got 70% of some vote, and that she was only the second woman to become Rector of some university. I think he was touching base with all the things that Labour Dundee had to be proud of.
I haven’t got time to listen to it properly and indeed i can’t hear clearly even though I have my sound options open fully – my hearing usually pretty good. So thanks for making this available. Others will no doubt get a lot from it.
Some very good interview on Wallace Chapman this morning.
Treasury talking about a more realistic fairer economic system here?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018635582/gabriel-makhlouf-natural-capital-and-national-wellbeing
Gabriel Makhlouf: natural capital and national wellbeing
From Sunday Morning, 8:37 am today
Listen duration 22′ :06″
Recently Treasury announced it plans to measure the wellbeing of the nation as part of its Living Standards Framework. The Secretary to the Treasury, Gabriel Makhlouf, outlines how it will work.
Tourism – Iceland and NZ can high five
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/2018635213/insight-tourism-saturation-nz-s-lessons-for-iceland (look at great images)
Iceland is drowning in tourists.
Last year more than two million people visited the Scandinavian country, which is home to just 330,000 people living on islands about a third of the size of New Zealand.
Listen 25′ :26″
Locals are cashing in on the tourism boom – but as in New Zealand, it’s proving to be a double-edged sword.
Christianson, a tourist information adviser in the northern city of Akureyri, says Icelanders are becoming increasingly frustrated with having to queue, slow traffic on the ring road that circles the main island, and hearing English rather than Icelandic everywhere they go.
More worryingly, the millions of pairs of feet trampling on areas of natural beauty is unsustainable, while infrastructure is under intense pressure. Sound familiar?
Those who have listened to Sec of Treasury, Gabriel Makhlouf about how they propose to include a measure of standard of living progress or decline in their reports, should read this piece by Chris Trotter on Bill Sutton.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2018/03/09/still-looking-for-a-compatible-rabbit/
Sutton was one of the keen devotees of Roger Douglas et al – (Roger Douglas, Michael Bassett, Mike Moore and David Lange were Labour Party politicians instrumental in the overthrow of their leader Bill Rowling …) – who went on to introduce us to the dreadful neoiberal, free market that has cost us so much.
Trotter’s essay quotes David Lange, who tried to withdraw from the Gang of Four, actually throwing out Roger which was disputed and reversed by his colleagues. David referred to Bill Sutton needing a brain transplant but that a compatible rabbit couldn’t be found. Trotter calls that a ‘vicious joke’. I think it was a well-deserved jab, and he might well have referred to a ‘compatible rat’.
Sutton is a scientist, and latterly a senior policy analyst for about 11 years. He must be suffering from what many scientists (and also many academics) fall prey to, a profound belief in the superiority of his mind and training and the rightness of his own decisions.
(Sutton has a PhD in biochemistry (Massey University) and worked as a research scientist from 1969 to 1984. After retiring from politics he worked as a senior policy analyst from 1996 to 2007.) Thanks wikipedia
Well, so much for the promises made by the Labour Party last year.
The Manawatu Gorge repair, or replacement is just getting later and later, if it ever happens at all. Even the bypass at Ashurst has gone into limbo.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/102100536/ashhurst-bypass-on-hold-for-foreseeable-future
Prior to the election the then leader was making brave promises.
http://www.labour.org.nz/manawatu_gorge
The candidates were making a variety of claims
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96287936/manawatu-candidates-front-up-with-manawatu-gorge-plans
“Lees-Galloway said with the arrival of MMP, the days of politicians promising and not delivering were over.
“It is a leap of faith and you will have to trust we will do that.”
Now the Ashurst bypass, first promised to be finished by March 2018 hasn’t even started and is merely drifting ever further into the future.
Is there anything, apart from taking lots and lots of selfies with primary school kids that our current lot of no-hopers has managed?
So, that would have been a National Party promise then?
Oh, wait, no – that was NZTA and they’re being held up by the farmers trying to rip off the government.
This is also the type of problem that happens when you use trucks as the main method of transport rather than trains and ships.
Well, if you need the land you can use the Public Works Act, or whatever it might be called these days. That is what is normally done in these circumstances and previous Labour Governments certainly weren’t phased by the idea.
That is of course what you would have to do if you decided to use the new railways of course for transport but I’m sure you know that. I think it is a great deal more likely that the NZTA have been told not to do anything as the current lot of bunnies in the Government can’t find any money.
As for using ships. There is a port at Wellington and another one at Napier of course but I’m not really sure that is the answer to transport between the Wairarapa or Southern Hawke’s Bay and the Manawatu.
I’m afraid you cannot blame the previous National Government for things that the present Government are delaying. Good try but no cigar.
You’re aware of how long and acquisition under the Public Works Act takes.
NZTA are in a war of resistance against this government.
The delays for that one and many others will continue even well after the impending Government Policy Statement.
I’m loving the right wing attack lines, “labour are not delivering”.
As it stands, we have a civil service who are no longer servants of the public, but ideology and preserving the status quo. Labour, NZ1st and the Greens can’t do anything until this pile of crap national left them with is fixed.
Any large ideological shift requires a good old clean out.
9 years under one government inevitably tilts the public service.
Minister Twyford is fully up to the task and aware of what he has to do.
Yes it’s a bit early to say the new government isn’t delivering. However there are some warning signs:
1. The number of Ministers who are in ‘witness protection’ (eg Kelvin Davis https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2018/03/an_acting_pm_who_cant_talk_on_anything_the_government_is_doing.html, Clare Curran (who has been hammered by Melissa Lee of all people)).
2. The number of Ministers looking like possums in the headlights (Davis again, Curran again, Willie Jackson, Nanaia Mahuta).
3. The post election ‘road to Damascus’ conversion to the TPP (http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1802/S00193/complete-u-turn-by-labour-and-nz-first-on-tpp.htm).
4. Pre election promises that are and were the stuff of Disney world (kiwibuild https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/102113019/Economist-warns-KiwiBuild-is-set-to-disappoint?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter, tree planting…).
5. A PM who gets photographed handing awards to students of a school she is about to close, and at a retreat where allegations of sexual assault have surfaced.
6. An expensive bribe to students that has resulted in a 0% increase in student numbers (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12008838).
7. A Finance Minister who flip flops on the level of government debt) https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/101346887/grant-robertsons-aboutface-on-debt).
8. A foreign buyers ban so poorly conceived it would stop the 5G roll out (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12007127).
And that’s just for starters!
“NZTA are in a war of resistance against this government.”
Hardly surprising considering the makeup of it’s board, https://nzta.govt.nz/about-us/about-the-nz-transport-agency/our-board/ , stacked with contracting insiders. Of course they are going to look after their mates.
V. v. Useless (or Uturn) haven’t heard anyone lamenting her loss as mayor
Can see a few changes coming up there.
Solution.
Fire the board.
But that’s what works Alwyn. Selfies with school kids and endangered species gets us a Green/Labour govt next time round. We’re living a country where the most popular show on TV is Shortland Street.
“Hey Mr Polluter, this is how much you’re getting for the farm that’s been in your family for 7 generations, to hell with your skyrocket valuation. Grab your BBQ and Hi Lux and piss off.”…….Not so much, msm suicide.
“Selfies with school kids and endangered species”. Well that part is correct although the rest of the sentence is unlikely to be true.
The endangered species in this is the Green Party, after all. They aren’t likely to survive the next election. I don’t think they will be missed. When you consider the stuff-up their leader has overseen in the Census (under 3 million people recorded) and one of the candidates for the XX chromosome spot is of for a fortnights holiday in New York their work ethic doesn’t really impress.
Cool. What’s the weather doing around your parts? Where are you at Alwyn?
Alwyn, the quality of your comments is declining 🙁
For your edification on Census stats so far: https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/census-online-total-nears-3-million
Julie Anne Genter, Minister for Women, will lead the New Zealand Government Delegation at the Sixty-Second Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/minister-women-lead-new-zealand-delegation-un-commission-status-women
I fail to see how you can possibly claim that the quality of my comments is declining. The links you include confirm precisely what I said, don’t they?
I said.
1. “Under 3 million people recorded”. Your link says that the total is nearing 3 million. Perfect score I would say.
2. “Genter is off for a fortnights holiday in New York”. Your link says she is off to attend a session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York. She left on the 10th. The session lasts from the 12th to the 23rd. I suppose you could say that t is only for 12 days, not a fortnight but I’ll bet she is away for more than 14 days.
http://www.unwomen.org/en/csw/csw62-2018
Spot on for accuracy
That looks like a 100% record to me. Do you ever get close to that?
No, never, my PB is 97% (but that was some time ago) so your 100% hit rate is very impressive indeed.
However, I don’t want to burst your well-deserved jubilant and celebratory mood (i.e. your bubble), I really don’t, but you do realise that so far 3 million people have taken part online, don’t you?
But I agree that this amounts to a major “stuff-up” on behalf of the responsible Minister, James Shaw, and he has no choice but to hand in his resignation to the PM.
It is just not on that Julie Anne Genter goes to New York for at least (!) a whole fortnight for a meeting of only 12 days, all expenses paid for no doubt, and then does SFA. I double your bet that after that meeting she will be in full holiday mode and will have nothing else on her agenda. What’s worse, she might even rest her feet on a table with the excuse that she’s pregnant!! How long will she be away for again? Heads should roll for this crime to the NZ Taxpayer.
It is good that there are still honest people holding this Government to account and in particular that CS faction who call themselves the Green Party – those water melons can never be trusted near power or with NZ Taxpayers money, that’s for sure.
And I do apologise; your latest comment was of the superior quality that we have come to relish here. I mean, you cannot argue with 100% accuracy, can you?
Wow!
You must have been drinking something very potent.
On the other hand I think your comment even exceeds mine in its flamboyance, and I was trying very hard.
You win. Your comment is funnier than mine.
I cannot accept your flattery, Alwyn, it’s embarrassing!
It was mint tea, by the way.
Alwyn, are you complaining that the Labour/NZ First government have not confiscated the required land to speed up construction?
From the linked article it sounds like the delays are caused by NZTA negotiating in good faith to acquire the land.
Do you have any inside knowledge of the situation?
And what does this bypass have to do with promises made about the new road? AFAIK work/planning on the new road has not been delayed.
See my comment to DTB about how you can obtain needed land. It isn’t “confiscation”. You have to pay a fair price and in practice it is the only way that any roads, or railways, can be built.
As far as the new road is concerned the best we are being promised is that we might hear about options by the end of March. “might”.
Hardly what Little was saying last year is it?
“It will be built as quickly as possible, using the powers available to the Government to speed up consenting and planning, and ensuring funding is immediately available.”
My understanding is that compulsory acquisition via the public works act is usually a last resort. Otherwise why is NZTA currently negotiating rather than acquiring?
So you agree that there were no pre election promises regarding the delayed Ashhurst bypass?
Regarding the new road, I have not seen any evidence that that work/planning has been delayed, or that the government is not using all powers available to them. Can you provide any?
This column from Trotter asks a good question:
It is time we took our power back away from the institutions that are designed to keep capitalism going despite it’s obvious failure to provide our society with what it needs.
This disgraceful incident should never have been allowed to occur in the first place …
Woman breaks leg at Middlemore hospital after having epidural for birth! Despite complaining of numbness in her right leg after the birth and having mobility difficulties, the new mother was forced to walk by the duty staff nurse. She fell, causing her right leg to collapse under her, fracturing her tibia!
The resulting bullshit and spin used by the hospital department management/hierarchy is incredibly mind boggling! What’s the matter with using plain simple language, while also acknowledging the accident was the responsibility of the duty nurse and the hospital, something which is blatantly obvious?
It will be interesting to see who is held accountable for this woman’s preventable accident while still in the care of the hospital!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12001186
They will blame the midwife if there is enough fuss. Never the hospital because it’s standard practise to require you to leave within a few hours of giving birth naturally and within 24 hours of a Caesarean. (At least that was what our family was told).
In the old days people stayed for 7 days in a maternity hospital and were taught how to care for the baby and had meals etc provided so you could concentrate on getting well and bonding.
Now to save the government money you bundle your newborn into a carseat within hours and have to go else where.
Possibly that explains our abuse statistics, it’s not exactly a good start for a baby and a Mother or family.
Also unless you went private you would be hard pressed to see a obstetrician in the leadup and during the birth of a baby.
After a few days in a birth centre if you choose to go to one, the after care goes to the charity Plunket because the government does not provide any or see the need to provide any government run after birth care.
My ex just dropped our sprog on a mattress on the lounge floor.
I hope it was a very soft mattress. The Police get a bit suspicious about “dropped” claims if the child is hurt.
(Couldn’t resist that).
Arguably, birth & death are the most traumatic experiences in and of life.
Or as my Doctor would put it.
“You must remember that life is a terminal disease”
My Mother would have been more succinct
“Nobody gets out of here alive”
I’m afraid your doctor was well-conditioned by his professional training at med school because life is a terminal condition, not a disease.
Your mother was 100% accurate; it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree 😉
Is the government no longer providing funding for ‘Well Child’ services ?
Theres a different between part funding a charity which needs to fund raise and accept donations from corporates than a fully funding NZ maternity aftercare service that is focused 100% on the job at hand (not fundraising).
I’d say the neoliberal business model of maternity care is NOT working if you look at the abuse statistics of this county and our poor efforts for children’s care and wellbeing and our dropping ranking is the world on this.
Our birth stats are going down. We aren’t a land of milk and honey and a good place to bring up children any more, except to people who can afford to buy what they need to compensate for NZ basic care, or come from somewhere really crowded, or have been in poverty or a refugee camp.
http://archive.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/population/births/BirthsAndDeaths_HOTPYeDec16.aspx
There were 1,608 fewer births and 429 fewer deaths compared with 2015.
The total fertility rate dropped to a low of 1.87 births per woman, compared with an annual average of about 2.02 from 1980–2015.
The infant mortality rate was 3.6 deaths per 1,000 live births.
(Between 1980 and 1986 we seemed to be below the natural increase, and are beginning to show now a similar trend.)
Our current Government are trying to do something about it.
Look at the leadership being displayed by Ardern and Genter.
Immigration from less fortunate nations can address that.
When I had my kids in the early 80’s I was allowed to stay in the maternity ward for 5 days.
For me, it was crucial, because I got the help that I needed to establish breast-feeding. (Not necessarily an easy or straightforward process.
Sadly several women there switched to bottles because they simply didn’t get the necessary help and advice.
One of my colleagues gave birth at night and they wanted to discharge her before 5am, ffs.
Interesting point about the obs, too. I wonder if there’s an observable socioeconomic bias…
There are many reasons for early mobization post anaesthesia, chiefly prevention of thrombsis, if this woman had died of a pulmonary embolism because she was not encouraged to mobilise it would be the health professional still at fault. In the not too distant past women were bed ridden for days post partum and the died of preventable causes, so whats one broken leg compared to the lives saved.
Oh sounds a bit regimented. What is appropriate for this patient at this particular time. Don’t want people afraid of nurses and hospitals do we, no Nurse Ratched stuff.
Psych nurse (10.2) …
I take on board your comparison with life threatening DVTs. However, it is definitely not satisfactory for a new mother to suffer a fractured leg immediate post partum, through staff failure to recognise a problem existed after receiving epidural anaesthesia. This is something which could have been avoided had the nurse been doing her job as an observant, caring health professional. Negligence is not conducive towards a good start for the new mother or her baby.
During the time I had my two children, it was mandatory for new mothers to rest up, bond with baby and establish good feeding patterns in the maternity hospital, usually for about a week or thereabouts. Most of us mothers were encouraged to move around, at a level that was comfortable for us, but not forced if mobility caused pain or difficulties. Also during that post natal period, the hospital physiotherapist visited, giving appropriate exercise programmes to assist mobility, as well as to prevent DVTs from forming. This system worked quite well for most new mothers and their babies.
Seems these days good, positive, as well as respectful maternity care is non existent. More the pity!
I’d like to see ACC expanded to include sickness – basically turn it into income protection insurance for illness and injury. This could partly be funded by removing the requirement to provide sick leave, and levying employers more on the savings. Any thoughts?
That was the original plan.
Should also cover unemployment.
It is still a tax, but much more palatable when people can see where it is going and why.
Pity we cannot stop right wing Governments, however, from treating it like a cash cow, commercial insurance.
Sick leave can be utilised for other than the worker’s own sickness, no matter what the company allows or is told. It is a safety net for families, though may not be used because of harsh necessity and resentment by the business against those not collapsing at work. My sister was a teacher, very devoted and hard working, and the management of her school were a bit snippy when she needed time off. Don’t think of cutting sick leave is my thought.
I definitely agree that retaining leave of some sort for dependents is essential, but that can be included in the ACC rules.
Craig H
You are so trusting. The ACC rules can be changed, subverted etc. They already are a different beast than when they were started. The things they do to the needy people on their books, and the ones the reject, are not good reading. I think they are reducing costs by putting people’s applications through a computerised system, ie being sorted by robot brains. Some of the humans weren’t so good because the government set pet medical doctors onto them to decide whether they could come in without being bitten, or have to endure a fight. Don’t think ACC is some reliably good organisation to help the community. I think they are something useful because their reserves look good on a balance sheet for the country so we can keep a low interest rate on our borrowing, so we can have some money circulating like a real economy.
The Holidays Act can be changed too if the government of the day decides to. Provided the ACC Act sets the entitlements into legislation rather than regulations, it’s as safe (or not) as any other legislative entitlement.
Too much power in one hands can create misery. Don’t think you quite understand how our government slowly has unwound, and sometimes quickly, legislative entitlements. Sorry to burst your bubble.
Because laughing is helpful. Samantha Bee on the twitter and chief. 7.03 long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpFB2q_3pJo&ab_channel=FullFrontalwithSamanthaBee
National reshuffle done.
It’s going to be Judith Collins versus Phil Twyford in the transport and urban development portfolios.
He can take her no probs.
But it will be fireworks.
I don’t think he can, I think hes about to find out how difficult the job can really be
Collins couldn’t take a car off an 18 year old yob and I doubt she’ll fare any better against Twyford.
The point wasn’t to see how many cars could be crushed it was to stop the cars being in such way they would be crushed
The yobs cut way down on what they were doing so Jude scored a major win on that point
And shes number 4 with a portfolio that will see her get media attention so any faltering in the polls and Jude can lead National to the promised land so its a win-win-win situation all round (except for Twyford and Labour of course)
Major win my arse.
Much to her embarrassment, the 18 year old yob took Colllins’ ministry on wild goose chase, and won.
The Government, and it’s Minister, Phil Twyford what to build shitloads of houses.. Lots of New Zealanders want shitloads of houses built, fast. The National Party, and it’s aspiring leader, Judith Collins want to stop them doing this.
What could possibly go wrong …..
“The yobs cut way down on what they were doing so Jude scored a major win on that point”
No they didn’t 🙂
It’s what you’d like to think I know but nah we, oops, they, didn’t..
The yobs cut way down on what they were doing
Yeah Right!
What planet are you on again?
Rich and entitled humans torture sentient beings.
For sport.
Disgusting.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12010650
I didn’t open the link but I’m assuming you’re talking about Clarke Gayford
No – Paula Bennett.
Would you use that same sentence to describe Clarke Gayford – New Zealand’s first man of fishing ?
Yes
Tag and release good on her.
Yes so good to torture an animal just for sport.
Not even to eat.
Just for fun.
Good on her.
In fairness I’ve only caught two. We smoked both and fed a ton of people.
I never asked.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_la5XiQJdk
Please tell me what the video says.
I’m terribly sorry ED I never realised you were hard of hearing.
This is an interview about the very important rights of animals. Ali G invited animal rights ambassadors to talk with him about how we should treat animals. The guests did their best to explain why it is wrong to perform experiments on animals at home, an important question that was asked was –
“Would you eat a chicken if another chicken would die if you said no!”
I don’t see the relevance to the story about Bennett torturing a sentient being just for fun.
Can you?
Oh Yes, on so very many levels Ed.
Good on you.
Terribly sorry Stunned Mullet but you have been coming on TS long enough to know that we like to have some information about what is going on in your brain, what point it wants to make about what the video contains so we know whether we want to watch it. Is it going to be fun, or informative, or like something that happens in NZ that is worthy of notice etc.
😆
Rich and entitled humans torture sentient beings.
Just count your blessings that cats didn’t come to dominate the planet, mate
They couldn’t be worse than humans…or could they ?
http://www.imghumour.com/assets/Uploads/Cat-Hitler2.jpg
Actually it was dolphins..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_dUmDBfp6k
i live with 3 cats that make a lie of your statement that they don’t dominate the planet
This weekend I keep going back to this piece on Paul Keating’s latest utterances in the SMH. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/paul-keating-praises-donald-trump-as-surprisingly-good-at-foreign-policy-20180309-p4z3mh.html
What gets me is not just what Keating says, but the conditions that underpin it. It seems as if the “professional politicians” that replaced the old representative ones are inhibited from meaningfully engaging in realpolitik, due to their subservience to corporate and financial interests. The fact is, the whole world did not magically transform into dedicated adherents to the so-called Washington Consensus, and their response has been limited to bullying and cajoling those who have not succumbed: “It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen”, they seem to think. Keating refers to this approach as a “lack of strategy” and praises Trump for at least trying.
The last two sentences: Mr Keating said Russia had the power to “obliterate” the US, and urged Mr Trump to maintain a workable relationship with the Kremlin.
“Russia alone has the capacity to obliterate the United States. If you’re a country that lives under the threat of obliteration, you generally should have a policy.”
I wonder if we should campaign to oust David Parker for signing the TPP. He hasn’t kept his promises. It isn’t in the public interest. And most importantly it won’t bring down the coalition. But it will make them think long and hard before shafting New Zealand again.
Wearing it on his sleeve.
Channeling the Romanovs.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested Jews and other minorities in Russia, including Tatars and Ukranians, could be to blame for meddling in the US presidential election.
“Maybe they’re not even Russians,” he told NBC News. “Maybe they’re Ukrainians, Tatars, Jews, just with Russian citizenship. Even that needs to be checked.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/vladimir-putin-donald-trump-jews-meddling-interfering-us-elections-fbi-investigation-robert-mueller-a8249671.html
Nah that’s fine it’s not racism unless you photoshop his head onto Oprah.
Perhaps tRump has no intention of being voted out.
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts state secretary William Galvin is strongly opposing President Donald Trump’s proposal to dispatch Secret Service agents to polling places during federal elections.
A provision of the Homeland Security reauthorization bill would allow armed Secret Service agents to enter polling locations at the direction of the President. Galvin says he is “horrified that this is even under consideration.”
https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2018/03/10/mass-state-secretary-blasts-trumps-proposal-to-dispatch-secret-service-to-polling-places
Looks like the shining beacon on the hill is out of fuel
Says you. You are of course the voice of reason….and a legend in you’re own mind.
TS …. something in recent times you come to love to hate.
The commenters with such a love of their own arseholes and self-adjuged intelligence. The egos. The dried up old public servants trying to remain relevant as contributors (probably … i was going to mention Paekakariki or Browns Bay …. best not go there or it’ll provoke an Ad-like epistle justifying ilk and neo-lib, or at least neo-lib-lite ideology).
An ability to sympathise rather than empathise….there goes the progressive Chardonnay TVNZ7 leftie.
Time is running out though folks. The game is up…. which is why NZ elected a change. Hopefully the MMP govts participants may soon come to realise what put them there, and why, and what is expected of them.
Dont hold back, tell us what you really think